Story Published: Jan 11, 2012 at 12:43 AM PDT
Story Updated: Jan 11, 2012 at 12:49 AM PDT
Kooskia Opera House remains in the family.
The fifth generation of owners are keeping the dream alive and already have a full slate of shows on tap.
Brandon Graves lights up when he talks about one of his family's most prized possessions.
"Joy, I mean there's nothing like being on the stage, or even being in the audience. When the show ends and people start clapping and they're excited about it, it creates a buzz throughout the entire community for several days," said Graves.
His great, great-grandfather bought the historic theatre in 1917 and since then the venue has seen everything from debates to basketball games.
"The town has just fallen in love with the theatre," said Graves. "We're always getting phone calls of what the next performance is, what the next play's going to be so they can have something they bring their friends and family to and be proud of in Kooskia, Idaho.
The theatre has a special place in Brandon's heart because it was right here on this stage about 15 years ago that he was doing a fight scene and fell right into the front row and met his wife Shoni.
Brandon and Shoni later married on the theatre's stage. They also performed together in many of the plays. They say crowds come from all over and most shows sell out.
"We're very surprised that we'll get people from Arizona to Maine to Florida," said Graves. "I think we've even had some people from Australia here once or twice."
Melodramas were very popular at the theatre. In fact, they have at least one scheduled for this summer. Brandon plans to bring the whole family on stage for "The Great Ice Cream Scheme." A caper sure to pump up the crowd, as well as pump some dollars into the city's struggling economy.
Brandon and Shoni Graves say they plan to pass the theatre down to their sons, Braydon and Ethan. The two boys would become the 6th generation of owners.
